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It is a crime for anyone to use the U.S. mail, or any private or commercial interstate carrier (e.g. FedEx, U.P.S.), to carry out a scheme or plan to defraud (trick or lie) an individual or group.

In many jurisdictions to be convicted of mail fraud the Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following items:

1. The person, conducted or attempted to conduct, a scheme or plan to defraud;
2. with the intent to commit fraud;
3. the person, directly or through another, used the U. S. Mail or private/commercial interstate carrier to carry out the fraud; and
4. the scheme involved false material representations.

Some actual cases:

1. Sending false financial statements through mails in order to secure credit, knowing that such statements are false, constitutes violation of 18 USC§ 1341.
Dranow v United States (1962, CA8 Minn)

2. Scheme whereby defendant sold certificates with promise to pay at maturity twice amount paid in, where defendant did not invest money received and had no income other than that paid by purchasers of certificates, was scheme to defraud.
Walker v United States (1907, CA9 Wash)

3. Mailing of any letter or writing by way of carrying out scheme is sufficient, although letter or writing itself may have been harmless.
Byron v United States (1921, CA9 Wash)

PUNISHMENT:
One may be found guilty of a felony, imprisoned up to 5 years, and fined up to $250,000. If a financial institution is involved, one may be imprisoned up to 30 years and fined up to $1,000,000. The punishment is per transaction. For example, if 8 letters are sent through the U.S. Mail and 10 packages are sent through FedEx, the potential punishment above is multiplied by 18.

Frequently, the Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) will secure a Federal Indictment from a Federal Grand Jury and charge a defendant not only with mail fraud, but also with wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit the aforementioned crimes. One should also be aware that since 1987 parole has been abolished in the Federal System. Expungement (removal of conviction from public records) is also not available.

As many as possible. Look at what they do, some are better than others. The BBB is not really for out-of-state stuff, and are more for businesses, as they are not government owned. I really wouldn't get the FBI involved in something of this magnitude, possible if all else fails, they ARE there to serve YOU, but I would start lower on the ladder. Start with the PO, then local police, internet fraud, etc.

A lot of the guys on the boards here do it, but it can get expensive. My bro, snakebite78, just went through PPS (Palmers) and the turnaround time was excellent. They kept us very informed, and it only cost about 30 dollars. Not sure exactly what they do, give them a call. Or just look around, a lot of guys here do it.

It'd be great if some of you people who HAVE had to go through the terrible process of getting back stolen goods to post how you did it. Please list IN DETAIL exactly what you did and the results each step gave you. This way, we can help others out in the same fix.

think someone scammed me

hey, i payed for a warp feed on automags.org and i dont think the guy is going to send it to me, he hasnt responded to me since the day i gave him the money. if i wait and he doesnt send it, is this wat i should do? let me know wat to do please. thanks.

Shop4paintball.com

My first paintball gun ever was a spyder shutter that i bought as one of their packages. They left out the 9 oz. co2 they were supposed to send and when i told them what happend they said wow, that sucks for you but i can't do a thing about it. Don't buy anything their.

FBI doesnt investigate mail fraud, that is under the jurisdiction of Postal Inspectors.

And I happen to know (guess how) that postal inspectors will not investigate isolated incidents, unless they have nothing else going on, which is never. They will investigate patterns of fraud, if there is enough. Do NOT expect a grand jury indictment for a company that stiffs you out of a CO2 tank, or a trader who fails to send you his gun, and keeps the one you sent. Postal Inspectors have a hard enough time getting people caught with 100s of pieces of stolen mail prosecuted.

Smartest move when buying online: Use an escrow service, such as www.escrow.com. Check it out. And use a credit card for online purchases, most have fraud protection (be sure to check first).

Have any questions, post em here, believe me, I can answer questions on mail fraud.

just wondering..has anyone ever filled out a complaint for a rip-off on this forum and had success? I recently filled one out but the big disclaimer thing at the top says they will investigate individuals who show "patterns" to defraud. Does this mean they won't investigate anyone until there are several complaint about the same person or what? plz let me know if any of you have successfully charged someone with mail fraud, and what steps did you follow to do so.